Reports 'demeaning' armed forces, cops to be banned

Reports 'demeaning' armed forces, cops to be banned

Cabinet okays draft of nat’l broadcast policy

This photo shows Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chairing the cabinet meeting on Monday at the Secretariat in the capital. Photo: PID

The cabinet today approved a draft of National Broadcast Policy-2014 with a provision to ban broadcasting anything that 'demeans' the armed forces or law enforcement agencies.

As per the draft, the government will form an independent commission, which will monitor the media reports and recommend applicants for broadcast licences, Cabinet Secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters.

The commission will monitor TV and radio programmes to ensure accountability and protect public interests. It will also prepare and enforce a guideline for broadcasters.

The draft policy, however, didn't mention any timeframe for the formation of the commission.

The approval of the draft policy came in a weekly cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Once the draft is approved in the parliament, no media house will be allowed to broadcast any false information in talk shows, the cabinet secretary said.

The draft law has been prepared after a series of consultations and discussions with different stakeholders, he said.

A total of 11 cabinet meetings were held between April 1 and June 30 this year.

In the meetings, 59 decisions were taken, of which 26 have been implemented.

During the period, one policy has been approved and eight memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed while six laws passed in the parliament, the cabinet secretary said.

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